MFW: MARCO DE VINCENZO F/W 2014

Speculation was strong last season when the CEO of LVMH was sitting front row, just a few seats down from Vogue’s Anna Wintour. This morning, the announcement confirmed the speculation that the fashion conglomerate is making a “strong investment” in the young label, though it will still be a minority stock holder at this point. If any of this excitement has de Vincenzo flustered to any degree he certainly wasn’t showing it. Calm and unflappable as ever, he guided his runway show to success. Here’s what you need to know.

Show notes say that kinetic geometries, optical effects and refractions of light are the source of inspiration for this collection. How Marco makes those rather obtuse descriptions come to life is through a set of new fabrics that are light weight, strong, and highly reflective. Be aware that, for the most part, these are not qualities that are going to be heavily interpreted by a camera. One needs to actually see and feel this fabrics to appreciate how truly incredible they are. What looks like cotton and lame and rubber is nothing of the sort. Marco has been very careful in his selections and even more so in how he has pieced them together. One will not find clothes like this anywhere else on the planet.

Wisely, de Vincenzo starts with silhouettes that are very familiar, going all the way back to the fifties with pleated skirts and short-collared blouses that button all the way to the neck. When introducing such radically new fabrics, our eyes enjoy having something in the picture that looks familiar. Marco doesn’t stay with that aesthetic and slowly moves into cuts and styles that are more contemporary following along the curves present in many of the garments. By the end, layered pieces in the skirts really do appear to be undulating waves of light.

Colors, naturally enough, play within the visible light spectrum, heavy on reds and blues, using black primarily for aesthetic purpose. There are some of the fabrics that give more of a metallic sense to the colors, and one particular garment toward the end where the lurex looks very much like a rainbow running away from its leprechaun.

If there is a down side to this collection it is the fact that the materials here are so very different from anything else in your wardrobe that one is going to be pretty much forced to buy complete ensembles. I’m not saying that these pieces cannot mix with traditional fabrics, but the effect, and probably the comfort level, won’t be the same.

Marco de Vincenzo is an innovator in terms of both fabric and style, the very kind of designer that a profit-centered corporation like LVMH knows it needs to keep its portfolio fresh and growing. This infusion of cash will help the label to grow and, good news for customers, make it more readily available through a wider number of outlets. If Marco de Vincenzo is not yet part of your fashion lexion, add him right now. You will be saying this name with increasing frequency over the next several seasons.